Pluto’s moon Charon has received the first group of official names for its features, among them several with ties to science fiction. Clarke Montes has been named in honor of Arthur C. Clarke and Kubrick Mons is named for the director of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Butler Mons honors Octavia E. Butler. Dorothy Crater is named for the protagonist of Baum’s Oz stories and Nemo Crater is named for the captain of Verne’s Nautilus. Stanislaw Lem’s Prix the Pilot is immortalized in Pirx Crater.For more information…

L. Frank Baum will be inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame on December 7, at Roosevelt University. Baum is part of the fourth induction class for the Hall of Fame, along with Leon Forrest, Edna Ferber, Ben Hecht, John H. Johnson, and Thornton Wilder. Baum will be represented by his great-grandson, Bob Baum. Wilder, whose The Skin of Their Teeth has some fantastic elements, will be represented by his nephew, Tappan Wilder.